第6章 母亲的手 1(第1页)
第6章母亲的手(1)
Mother'sHands
珍妮·艾默斯JanieEmaus
Asteenagersweliveiworldfromourmothers,aworldwheremoutontheperipheries。Ofosteveryoheyareunavoidableannoyances。
Today,asIapproachthatedge,asIamtheoheteeer,Ilookatmymhdifferenteyes。AimeswishIcouldhalttheyearsandstrowiopherfrherself。
&mykittableasthesundesignsamosaicoflightoheflhter,Anna,sitsomymother。
“WhenisRigtobehere?”mymotherasks,referringtomyhusband。
“Idon’tknow,Mom,”Ialy。“He’llbeherefordinner。”
Isighaupfromthetable。Thisisatleastthetenthtimeshehasaskedthatquestioninasmanyminutes。
&heranddaughterplayMonopoly,Ibusymyselfmakingasalad。
“Don’tputinanyonions,”Momsays。“YouknowhowDaddyhatesonions。”
“Yes,Mom,”Ianswer,shovingthessbate。
Iscruboffadtobite-sizepieces。Ithrustthekheoreforisnecessary。Aslicefallsontothefloor。
“Don’tputanyonionsinthesalad,”sheremindsme。“YouknowhowDaddyhatesonions。”
ThistimeIswer。
Ijustkeepg,g,tearing。IfonlyIcouldchopawaytheyears,shredtheagefrommymother’sfads。
Mymotherhadbeeiful。Shestillis。Infact,mymotherisstilleverythingshehasbeen,justabitfetful。Itrytoyselfthat’sallthatitis,andifshereallytrated,shewouldherselfsomuch。Thereisn’tanythingwrongwithher。
Icutofftheendofthecudrubitagaiotakeawaythebitterejuiceoozesoutthesides。Wouldn’titbeniceifalluuationscouldbesoeasilyremedied?drub。ThisisatrickIhavelearnedfrommymwithatrillis:g,sewing,dating,laughing,thinking。Ilearogrowup。Ilearthroughemotions。
Ahatwhenmymotherwasarouobeafraid。
SowhyamIafraidnow?
Istudymymother’shands。Hernailsarenhtred,butpaipink,almostnocoloratall。AndasIstareatthem,IrealizeIamnatthosehahemastheyshapedmyyouth。Handsthatpackedathousandlundwipedamilliontearsoffmycheeks。Handsthattufideoeaylife。
Iturnawayandthrowthecutothebowl。Asme。Myhandshavegrownintothoseofmymother’s。
Handsthathaveeatenmeals,heldmyowndaughter’sfrightehefirstdayofsddriedtearsoffherface。
Igrowlighthearted。Ifeelmymotherkissmegoodoseeifthewindowisloblowanotherkissfromthedoorway。ThenIammymthatsamekisstoAnnaoffthatsamepalm。
Outsideeverythingisstill。Shadowsfallamorees,shapedlikepiecesofapuzzle。